White emitting light source and luminescent material

ABSTRACT

The invention relates to a white emitting light source with an improved luminescent material of the formula (AEN2/3)*b(MN)*c(SiN4/3)*d1CeO3/2*d2EuO*xSiO2*yAlO3/2 wherein AE is an alkaline earth metal chosen of the group of Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba or mixtures thereof and M is a trivalent element chosen of the group of Al, B, Ga, Sc with d1&gt;10*d2. In combination with a UV to blue light generating device this material leads to an improved light quality and stability, especially an improved temperature stability for a wide range of applications.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This is a continuation of U.S. application Ser. No. 12/595,660, filed Oct. 13, 2009 by Joerg Meyer et al., titled “White Emitting Light Source and Luminescent Material with Improved Colour Stability,” now U.S. Pat. No. 8,465,166, which is a National Stage Entry of PCT Application No. PCT/IB2008/051427, which is the International Application claiming priority to EPO Application Serial No. 07106630.2. Each of U.S. Pat. No. 8,465,166, PCT Application No. PCT/IB2008/051427, and EPO Application Serial No. 07106630.2 is incorporated herein by reference.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention is directed to novel luminescent materials for light emitting devices, especially to the field of novel luminescent materials for LEDs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

For illumination purposes high CRI light sources are generally preferred. White LEDs based on a single YAG:Ce luminescent colour converter usually reach R_(a) values in the 70s with very bad colour rendering in the red spectral region. Therefore strong pressures exist for the development of efficient illumination grade white LEDs with excellent colour rendering over the entire visible spectral region. The obvious measure to improve colour rendering is the addition of a red emitting luminescent material (i.e. disclosed in the U.S. Pat. No. 6,717,353). However fabrication of white LEDs becomes more cumbersome due to the added degrees of freedom. Thus single phosphor options are deemed to be favourable if not superior.

However, there is still the continuing need for novel emitting luminescent materials which are usable within a wide range of applications and especially allow the fabrication of white phosphor converted LEDs (pcLEDs) with correlated colour temperature below 6000 K, optimized luminous efficiency and color rendering.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is an object of the present invention to provide an illumination system which is usable within a wide range of applications and especially allows the fabrication of warm white pcLEDs with optimized luminous efficiency and color rendering.

This object is solved by an illumination system according to claim 1 of the present invention. Accordingly, an illumination system is proposed comprising at least one luminescent material essentially of the composition a (AEN_(2/3))*b(MN)*c(SiN_(4/3))*d₁CeO_(3/2)*d₂EuO*xSiO₂*yAlO_(3/2) wherein AE is an alkaline earth metal chosen of the group of Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba or mixtures thereof and M is a trivalent element chosen of the group of Al, B, Ga, Sc or mixtures thereof

with 0.95≦2*(a+d1+d2)/(b+c+x+y)≦1.2 a+d ₁ +d ₂ ≧c+x, (b+y):(c+x)≧1, (b+y)≦1+10*d ₁, b≧5*y, c≧10*x, 0.0001≦d ₁≦0.2 and d1≧10*d2.

The term “essentially” means especially ≧95%, preferably ≧97% and most preferred ≧99% wt-%. However, in some applications, trace amounts of additives may also be present in the bulk compositions. These additives particularly include such species known to the art as fluxes. Suitable fluxes include alkaline earth—or alkaline—metal oxides, fluorides, SiONes, SiAlONes, SiO₂ and the like and mixtures thereof.

Such an illumination system has shown for a wide range of applications within the present invention to have at least one of the following advantages:

-   -   The colour control of the illumination system can be greatly         enhanced due to the fact that for a wide range of applications         within the present invention changes in the blue wavelength of         the excitation source are compensated by spectral shift in the         conversion layer.     -   Overall very similar color points on the black body line of the         chromaticity diagram may be hit independent of the excitation         wavelength used for a wide range of applications within the         present invention.     -   The invented luminescent material shows excellent thermal and         photo-thermal stability of the luminescence efficiency, this in         combination with the above leads to a highly temperature stable         illumination system.     -   In addition, the invented luminescent material strongly absorbs         near UV to blue light over a wide spectral range, so it can be         used with various light sources.     -   A special property of the material is its capability to generate         a narrow range of color temperatures with different blue         emission wavelength, determined by the material composition.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, 0.97≦2*(a+d1+d2)/(b+c+x+y)≦1.15, preferably, 1≦2*(a+d1+d2)/(b+c+x+y)≦1.10. This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, d1≧10*d2, preferably d2≧20*d2, more preferred d1≧30*d2 and most preferred d1≧40*d2.

This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Cerium doping level d1 is ≧0.01% and ≦20% of a, i.e. the molar amount of the alkaline earth ion content (Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the Europium doping level d2 is ≧0001% and ≦2% of a, i.e. the molar amount of the alkaline earth ion content (Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba).

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the full width half maximum (FWHM) of the emission spectra of said at least one luminescent material is ≧120 nm.

This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of applications within the present invention.

Preferably, the half-width of the emission spectra of said at least one luminescent material is ≧130 nm, more preferred ≧140 nm.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the emission spectrum of said at least one luminescent material shows a composed emission band comprising at least one maximum in the wavelength range between ≧500 and ≦600 nm, preferably ≧530 and ≦570 and a full width half maximum (FWHM) of ≧80 nm, preferably ≧100 and most preferred ≧120 nm and a second emission maximum in the wavelength range between ≧600 and ≦650 nm, preferably ≧600 and ≦620 nm and a full width half maximum (FWHM) of ≧30 and ≦140 nm, preferably ≦120 and most preferred ≦100 nm.

This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of applications within the present invention.

It goes without saying that the emission spectrum may be a superposition of these two emissions (which will actually be the case for most applications within this embodiment of the present invention) and therefore only one emission maximum may be observed. The two emissions may then be calculated by deconvolution.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, after excitation with light emitting in the 400-480 nm spectral range, the relative emitted energy of the luminescent material in the 500-700 nm wavelength interval is ≧50%, more preferred ≧75%.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the ratio [M]:[Si], i.e. (b+y):(c+x), in said at least one luminescent material is ≧1.01 and ≦1.20. By doing so it has been surprisingly found that the (photo-)thermal stability may for a wide range of applications within the present invention be increased even further.

Preferably the ratio [M]:[Si] in said at least one luminescent material is ≧1.02 and ≦1.18, more preferred the ratio [M]:[Si] in said at least one luminescent material is ≧1.03 and ≦1.15.

This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention (b+y) is ≧2*d₁, more preferred (b+y) is ≧5*d₁. This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in said at least one luminescent material b is ≧5*y, preferably b is ≧10*y, more preferred b is ≧20*y. This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in said at least one luminescent material c is ≧10*x, more preferably c is ≧20*x, more preferred c is ≧50*y. This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in said at least one luminescent material d1 is ≦0.1. Preferably d1 is ≦0.03, more preferred d₁ is ≦0.01.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, in said at least one luminescent material [Ba]+[Sr]+[Mg] is ≦0.9*[Ca], preferably [Ba]+[Sr]+[Mg] is ≦0.7*[Ca] and more preferred [Ba]+[Sr]+[Mg] is ≦0.5*[Ca]. This has been shown to lead to a material with further improved lighting features for a wide range of application within the present invention.

Preferably the at least one material is provided as powder and/or as ceramic material.

If the at least one material is provided at least partially as a powder, it is especially preferred that the powder has a d₅₀ of ≧2 μm and ≦15 μm. This has been shown to be advantageous for a wide range of applications within the present invention.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the at least one material is at least partly provided as at least one ceramic material.

The term “ceramic material” in the sense of the present invention means and/or includes especially a crystalline or polycrystalline compact material or composite material with a controlled amount of pores or which is pore free.

The term “polycrystalline material” in the sense of the present invention means and/or includes especially a material with a volume density larger than 90 percent of the main constituent, consisting of more than 80 percent of single crystal domains, with each domain being larger than 0.5 μm in diameter and having different crystallographic orientations. The single crystal domains may be connected by amorphous or glassy material or by additional crystalline constituents.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, a light emitting device especially a LED is provided comprising at least one ceramic material with an average diameter from ≧100 μm to ≦2000 μm, more preferred ≧200 μm to ≦1500 μm, yet more preferred ≧250 μm to ≦1000 μm and most preferred ≧300 μm to ≦750 μm.

According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one ceramic material has a volume of ≧0.005 mm³ to ≦8 mm³, more preferred ≧0.03 mm³ to ≦1 mm³ and most preferred ≧0.08 mm³ to ≦0.18 mm³.

According to a preferred embodiment, the at least one ceramic material has a density of ≧90% and ≦100% of the theoretical density. This has been shown to be advantageous for a wide range of applications within the present invention since then the luminescent properties of the at least one ceramic material may be increased.

More preferably the at least one ceramic material has a density of ≧97% and ≦100% of the theoretical density, yet more preferred ≧98% and ≦100%, even more preferred ≧98.5% and ≦100% and most preferred ≧99.0% and ≦100%.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the surface roughness RMS (disruption of the planarity of a surface; measured as the geometric mean of the difference between highest and deepest surface features) of the surface(s) of the at least one ceramic material is ≧0.001 μm and ≦1 μm.

According to an embodiment of the present invention, the surface roughness of the surface(s) of the at least one ceramic material is ≧0.0001 μm and ≦0.8 μm, according to an embodiment of the present invention ≧0.01 μm and ≦0.5 μm, according to an embodiment of the present invention ≧0.02 μm and ≦0.2 μm and according to an embodiment of the present invention ≧0.03 μm and ≦0.15 μm.

According to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the specific surface area of the at least one ceramic material is ≧10⁻⁷ m²/g and ≦0.1 m²/g.

A material and/or a light emitting device according to the present invention may be of use in a broad variety of systems and/or applications, amongst them one or more of the following:

-   -   Office lighting systems     -   household application systems     -   shop lighting systems,     -   home lighting systems,     -   accent lighting systems,     -   spot lighting systems,     -   theater lighting systems,     -   fiber-optics application systems,     -   projection systems,     -   self-lit display systems,     -   pixelated display systems,     -   segmented display systems,     -   warning sign systems,     -   medical lighting application systems,     -   indicator sign systems, and         -   decorative lighting systems         -   portable systems         -   automotive applications         -   green house lighting systems

The aforementioned components, as well as the claimed components and the components to be used in accordance with the invention in the described embodiments, are not subject to any special exceptions with respect to their size, shape, material selection and technical concept such that the selection criteria known in the pertinent field can be applied without limitations.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Additional details, features, characteristics and advantages of the object of the invention are disclosed in the subclaims, the figures and the following description of the respective figures and examples, which—in an exemplary fashion—show several embodiments and examples of a luminescent material for use in an illumination system according to the invention as well as several embodiments and examples of an illumination system according to the invention.

FIG. 1 shows two emission spectra of two illumination system according to the present invention with LEDs emitting at different blue wavelengths combined with the luminescent material according to Example I of the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows CIE 1976 color coordinates of the two illumination systems of FIG. 1 with different thickness plates of the luminescent ceramics.

FIG. 3 shows a zoom of FIG. 2 in the white region

FIG. 4 shows several emission spectra of further illumination systems according to the present invention employing different thickness plates of the luminescent ceramics according to Example I of the present invention

FIG. 5 shows further several emission spectra of further illuminations systems according to the present invention employing different thickness plates of the luminescent ceramics according to Example I of the present invention

FIG. 6 shows a diagram of the x-y-color point coordinates against the temperature of a luminescent material according to Example I of the present invention.

FIG. 7 shows a schematic diagram of illumination systems.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The invention will be further understood by the following Example I which—in a merely illustrative fashion—shows several materials of the present invention.

Example I

Example I refers to 1.080(CaN_(2/3))*1.006(AlN)*0.963(SiN_(4/3))*0.0198CeO_(3/2)*0.0002EuO*0.018SiO₂*0.014AlO_(3/2) which was prepared in the following fashion:

All actions were carried out in dry inert gas atmosphere. 53.37 g Ca₃N₂ (2N), 41.02 g AlN (3N), 0.78 g Al₂O₃, 45.30 g Si₃N₄, 1.09 g SiO₂, 3.41 g CeO₂ (4N) and 0.035 g Eu₂O₃ (4N) were intimately mixed by ball milling and the mixture was subsequently fired in forming gas atmosphere (N₂:H₂ 95:5 v/v) at 1500° C. maximum temperature. The obtained powder cake was again milled, granulated and pressed into pellets by uniaxial pressing and subsequent cold isostatic pressing until a green density of >50% was reached. The pellets were sintered at 1650° C. in forming gas atmosphere, optionally this is followed by a hot isostatic pressing step at 1 kbar N₂ to improve the density.

FIG. 7 shows a blue LED 1 and a blue LED 2(=illuminations systems). Each of n-GaN layers 111A, 111B of LEDs 1, 2 are optically coupled by transparent glue 112A, 112B with a refractive index of 1.5 (silicone) to the luminescent ceramic plates 113A, 113B, which form the outer surfaces 121A, 121B of the illumination, systems 1, 2. Besides the optical functionality of the ceramic plates 113A, 113B they also form a rigid mechanical protection for the underlying roughened surfaces 120A, 120B of n-GaN layers 111A, 111B of the LEDs.

FIG. 1 shows a white LED emission spectra with a luminescent ceramic plate made out of the material according to example I with 150 μm thickness on blue LED 1 with a dominant emission wavelength of 450 nm and blue LED 2 with a dominant emission wavelength of 464 nm. As described above the 1 mm² thin-film flip-chip InGaN—GaN LEDs 1, 2 are optically coupled by a transparent glue 112A, 112B with a refractive index of 1.5 (silicone) to the luminescent ceramic plates 113A, 113B, which forms the outer surfaces 121A, 121B of the illumination systems. Besides the optical functionality of the ceramic plates 113A, 113B they also form a rigid mechanical protection for the underlying roughened surfaces 120A, 120B of n-GaN layers 111A, 111B of the LEDs.

It can be seen that the material according to Example I has a broad band in the wavelength range of 500-700 nm leading to a warm-white emission spectrum of the illumination systems with a correlated color temperature (CCT) between 3000 and 4000 K.

FIG. 2 shows the color points of the LEDs with luminescent ceramic plate(=illumination systems) of FIG. 1 together with the color points of the blue LEDs used in a CIE 1976 diagram.

FIG. 3 shows a zoomed view on the white region of FIG. 2. In this view the specific property of the luminescent material is visible to counteract a variation of the blue LED emission. This property is very beneficial for white LEDs in general illumination applications to realize a stable white emission color (stable CCT), even if the LED emission spectrum undergoes changes due to variations in drive current and junction temperature.

FIGS. 4 and 5 show emission spectra of selected white emitting LEDs with the blue pumping LEDs, LED 1 for FIG. 4 and LED 2 for FIG. 5, respectively.

It can be shown that with the material according to Example I several LEDs with low CCT and excellent colour rendering indices R_(a) and high colour rendering index R₉ could be fabricated. R₉ is a measured for the reproduction of saturated red colours. The data are shown in Table I and II, whereby Table I refers to the spectra of FIG. 4 and Table II refers to the spectra of FIG. 5.

TABLE I CCT [K] 4411 3583 3323 3286 3256 3231 3210 Ra 82 76 73 73 73 73 72 Δuv 0.025 0.006 0.004 0.006 0.007 0.008 0.009 x 0.3535 0.3942 0.4207 0.4251 0.4289 0.4323 0.4352 y 0.3116 0.3701 0.4081 0.4144 0.4199 0.4247 0.429 LE [lm/W] 273 307 327 330 333 335 337 R1 87.5 76.8 72.2 71.5 70.9 70.4 70 R2 86.1 81.2 78.1 77.6 77.2 76.9 76.6 R3 77.6 80.9 81.1 81.2 81.3 81.4 81.5 R4 81.7 75.5 73.8 73.5 73.3 73.1 73 R5 85.2 74.2 69.2 68.4 67.8 67.2 66.8 R6 75.7 70.7 66.6 66.1 65.6 65.1 64.8 R7 82.9 82.7 83.9 84.2 84.5 84.8 85.1 R8 81.2 67.9 63 62.3 61.7 61.2 60.8 R9 55.3 17.7 3.2 1 −0.7 −2.2 −3.5 R10 60.4 52 46.4 45.6 44.9 44.3 43.8 R11 78.3 69.8 67.1 66.7 66.3 66 65.7 R12 63.3 49.9 40.3 38.8 37.6 36.5 35.6 R13 85.5 76.6 72 71.4 70.8 70.3 69.9 R14 85.6 88.2 88.6 88.7 88.7 88.8 88.9

TABLE II CCT [K] 4587 3597 3395 3274 3230 3194 3163 3138 Ra 89 81 79 77 76 76 75 75 Δuv 0.021 0.006 0 0.003 0.005 0.006 0.007 0.008 x 0.3505 0.3942 0.4109 0.4228 0.4275 0.4316 0.4353 0.4385 y 0.3167 0.3716 0.3927 0.4076 0.4135 0.4187 0.4233 0.4273 LE [lm/W] 275 306 317 324 327 330 332 334 R1 92.1 80.9 77.1 74.6 73.7 72.9 72.2 71.6 R2 94.8 89.4 85.9 83.6 82.7 81.9 81.3 80.7 R3 93.2 91.1 89.6 88.5 88.1 87.7 87.4 87.1 R4 83.1 75.7 73.9 72.8 72.3 72 71.6 71.4 R5 88.7 78.2 74.1 71.3 70.3 69.4 68.6 67.9 R6 85.9 80.6 76.5 73.5 72.4 71.4 70.6 69.8 R7 87.8 86.5 87 87.4 87.6 87.7 87.9 88.1 R8 84.7 69.5 65.8 63.5 62.6 61.8 61.2 60.7 R9 69.4 26.7 15.7 8.6 5.9 3.7 1.7 0.1 R10 87.9 69.6 62.6 57.9 56.2 54.7 53.4 52.3 R11 75.9 67.7 65.6 64.2 63.7 63.2 62.8 62.5 R12 65.6 55.8 48.4 42.9 40.7 38.8 37.2 35.6 R13 94.1 82.9 78.7 76 74.9 74.1 73.3 72.6 R14 95.9 94.3 93.3 92.7 92.5 92.3 92.1 92

FIG. 6 shows a diagram of the x-y-color coordinates (CIE 1931) against the temperature of a luminescent material according to Example I of the present invention. In this Figure it can be clearly seen that the x-y-color point stays nearly constant with temperature, which leads to an excellent color stability for a wide range of illumination systems according to the present invention.

The particular combinations of elements and features in the above detailed embodiments are exemplary only; the interchanging and substitution of these teachings with other teachings in this and the patents/applications incorporated by reference are also expressly contemplated. As those skilled in the art will recognize, variations, modifications, and other implementations of what is described herein can occur to those of ordinary skill in the art without departing from the spirit and the scope of the invention as claimed. Accordingly, the foregoing description is by way of example only and is not intended as limiting. The invention's scope is defined in the following claims and the equivalents thereto. Furthermore, reference signs used in the description and claims do not limit the scope of the invention as claimed. 

The invention claimed is:
 1. A device comprising: a light source configured to emit light having a wavelength between 400 nm and 480 nm; and a luminescent material positioned to absorb light emitted by the light source, the luminescent material comprising (AEN_(2/3))*b(MN)*c(SiN_(4/3))*d₁CeO_(3/2)*d₂EuO*xSiO₂*yAlO_(3/2) wherein AE is an alkaline earth metal chosen of the group of Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba or mixtures thereof and M is a trivalent element chosen of the group of Al, B, Ga, Sc or mixtures thereof, wherein 0.95≦2*(a+d ₁ +d ₂)/(b+c+x+y)≦1.2 a+d ₁ +d ₂ ≧c+x, (b+y):(c+x)≧1, (b+y)≦1+10*d ₁, b≧5*y, c≧10*x, 0.0001≦d ₁≦0.2 and d ₁≧10*d ₂.
 2. The device of claim 1, wherein d₁ is ≧0.01% and ≦20% of a.
 3. The device of claim 1, wherein (b+y):(c+x) is ≧1.01 and ≦1.20.
 4. The device of claim 1, wherein (b+y) is ≦1+10*d₁.
 5. The device of claim 1, wherein b≧5*y and c≧10*x.
 6. The device of claim 1, wherein d₁ is ≦0.01.
 7. The device of claim 1 wherein the luminescent material emits light having a wavelength between 500 nm and 700 nm.
 8. The device of claim 1 wherein combined light comprising light emitted by the light source and light emitted by the luminescent material has a correlated color temperature between 3000 and 4000 K.
 9. The device of claim 1, wherein in said at least one luminescent material [Ba]+[Sr]+[Mg] is ≦0.9*[Ca].
 10. The device of claim 1, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode.
 11. A device comprising: a light source; and a ceramic luminescent material positioned to absorb light emitted by the light source, the luminescent material comprising (AEN_(2/3))*b(MN)*c(SiN_(4/3))*d₁CeO_(3/2)*d₂EuO*xSiO₂*yAlO_(3/2) wherein AE is an alkaline earth metal chosen of the group of Ca, Mg, Sr and Ba or mixtures thereof and M is a trivalent element chosen of the group of Al, B, Ga, Sc or mixtures thereof, wherein 0.95≦2*(a+d ₁ +d ₂)/(b+c+x+y)≦1.2 a+d ₁ +d ₂ ≧c+x, (b+y):(c+x)≧1, (b+y)≦1+10*d ₁, b≧5*y, c≧10*x, 0.0001≦d ₁≦0.2 and d ₁≧10*d ₂.
 12. The device of claim 11, wherein d₁ is ≧0.01% and ≦20% of a.
 13. The device of claim 11, wherein (b+y):(c+x) is ≧1.01 and ≦1.20.
 14. The device of claim 11, wherein (b+y) is ≦1+10*d₁.
 15. The device of claim 11, wherein b≧5*y and c≧10*x.
 16. The device of claim 11, wherein d₁ is ≦0.01.
 17. The device of claim 11, wherein the light source is a light emitting diode that emits blue light.
 18. The device of claim 11, wherein the ceramic luminescent material has a density ≧90% of a theoretical density.
 19. The device of claim 11, wherein: the ceramic luminescent material comprises a main constituent and pores; the ceramic luminescent material has a volume density larger than 90 percent of the main constituent; and the main constituent is more than 80 percent single crystal domains.
 20. The device of claim 11, wherein the ceramic luminescent material has a surface with an RMS roughness ≧0.001 μm and ≦1 μm. 